I SHALL PAINT MY NAILS RED: BY CAROLE SATYAMURTI

Humor and Empowerment of Women in Carol Satyamurti 's

I Shall Paint my Nails Red

Carole Satyamurti , a poet and sociologist cleverly weaved the plight of ordinary women in I Shall Paint my Nails Red : women who are seen as a mere background of the society- neglected and lost in the mundane of her existence . While it is easy to discern that I Shall Paint my Nails is nothing but the showcasing of a woman 's vanity seeking attention , a closer look at the poem would reveal a deeper and multi-layered analysis

of women . In essence , Carole Satyamurti 's I Shall Paint my Nails Red was able to show the different roles and interpretations of women of her self , to her daughter , to her lover , the society and to life- that painting her nails red symbolizes a departure from her customary role in to show an intelligent , interesting and valuable person capable of so much more than her ordinary routines . It is a declaration of a woman 's importance

The color red is interpreted in poetry as a figure of speech for passion , anger and strong emotions . In this light , Satyamurti used this color to depict a seemingly humorous and trivial poem into one that speaks of a woman 's importance . In the first line "because a bit of color is a public service (line 1 " Satyamurti departs from the convention that public service is about service , the economy and production . Essentially , the poem recognizes that it is not only men who are components of production and economics that can perform public service but also women who provide not only entertainment but beauty and compassion . This is affirmed in her second line when Satyamurti declared that "because i am proud of my hands (line 2 ' connoting that her hands that are used to do household chores are also important . By painting it red , Satyamurti calls attention to the role of women in the society and in the family- that while they are not being paid for work they do everyday of their lives , it should not be neglected . Thus , being proud of one 's hands and putting a red paint on it declares that the woman is aware of her economic and sociological role and significance

On the other hand , the third and fourth lines of the poem points to the theme of strength and empowerment in women . In the line "because it will remind me I 'm a woman (line 3 " and "because I will look like a survivor " the woman is declaring that being a woman means being brave and strong . Thus , by re-affirming her gender identity , the person in the poem is also recognizing that women in general possess strength of characters . Furthermore , because the color red symbolizes intense emotions , it evokes attention thereby , reminding us that women are not ordinary . For instance , in the fifth line "because I can admire them in traffic jams (line 5 " it is easy to note that this is vanity...